Council leader in call for devolution

The leader of Daventry District Council (DDC) has called for the devolution of powers to prevent the loss of “vital”public services.

Cllr Millar made the comments in the wake of a decision by central government to slash Daventry District Council’s settlement funding by 15.6 per cent.

Since 2010 the National Audit Office estimates funding for local government to have dropped by 37 per cent in real terms, placing an unprecedented demand on resources and forcing councils to axe non-essential services.

Cllr Millar called for a devolution settlement giving local authorities ‘greater fiscal responsibility’, which he said would help the council to prevent the loss of vital council services.

He said: “I firmly believe that residents get far more for each pound spent locally by a council such as ours than if it is spent on the local area by central government.

“We want to lead the way in maintaining local economic and employment growth while delivering first-class services at the lowest possible cost to our residents.”

But the reduction in the grant, which makes up around three quarters of the council’s income, came as no surprise to DDC which had outlined plans to bridge the deficit in its Medium Term Financial Plan in a report to the council on December 4.

Currently, this entails £153,000 worth of cuts to team budgets as well as cultivating new income streams such as new homes for private rent on the Middlemore estate and invest-to save projects, such as the joint Rainsbrook Crematorium development with Rugby Borough Council.